Februrary 2019 Book of the Month - POLL UP - VOTE thru Feb 6

[Kaje]

We skipped last month because we had two good books lined up tied, but now we need new suggestions for next month.

What YA LGBTQ book would you like to read, or do you think members who haven't read it should try, (and those who have read it can discuss), as our BotM for Feb-Mar?

What book made a difference to you, and might to other readers? What sounds interesting, appealing or different?

If possible, link the book page on GR and tell us a little about it or why you picked it, or post the blurb.

The titles of past books of the month that we have read are on all the threads in this "Book of the Month" folder, and you can also check with a search of the group's book-of-the-month Bookshelf at - https://www.goodreads.com/group/books... Please do not repeat a book we have read - either as a past Book of the Month or as a Buddy Read (check the Buddy Read folder) - and please only nominate the first book in a series, unless a later book stands alone as a solo read.

Up to two nominations per member. Nominations will be open through Midnight Jan 31, or sooner if we get 12 nominations - the max for voting. Feel free to renominate a book that did not win in a past vote, if it fits this category. Sorry about the short notice.

(Authors please do not nominate your own books - but readers can definitely nominate a member author's work)

Nominations closed - poll is here through Feb 6th
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1....

[Kaje]

I love these authors and want to see one of theirs hit our reading list. And a truly lovely story about two damaged boys finding each other and hope.

Nobody's Butterfly by Claire Davis and Al Stewart.

These authors manage to touch my heart with their words and YA characters better than almost any others.

Cobweb ghosts are so inconvenient—especially grumpy ones with bad breath. Don’t they know silence is golden?

Johnny Strong is the expert; he hasn’t spoken in two years. Not one word to anyone except the ghost. The main purpose of life is to avoid people and not get noticed. Friends? He doesn’t need them; and certainly nobody wants him despite what the ghost says.

Until a new boy appears at Windybank—Finn Lyons, teenage wizard. He eats frogs, concocts potions, and is always hungry. Not only does Finn stand up for Johnny; he actively seeks his company and soon becomes part of life.
First love; family and words; a heady mix to go in the potion but how will it all turn out?

Hubble bubble; Johnny Strong’s in trouble! Silence is not always golden in this sweet, zany story of the purest magic at Christmas.

Content warning for history of abuse (emotional and unspecified)

(I also adore their book Shut Your Face, Anthony Pace!, with an autism spectrum MC, but there is a bit of on-page sex that pushes it close to our reading limits.)

[Iamshadow]

I read both Nobody's Butterfly and Shut Your Face, Anthony Pace! last week. They were pretty good!

I'm probably a bit of a broken record by now, but I'm still keen for people to read Santa Olivia/Saints Astray. It's got a butch protag, which is hard to find, it's full of PoC, and it's a superhero story for the current political times. I think it's got a lot in common tonally with Dreadnought, though the worldbuilding is very different.

Also, is anyone else interested in reading The Brightsiders? It's still sitting on my shelf, unread. I don't know what could recommend it as being different, because I don't really know anything about the story, just that it's got a band in it, a bisexual character, and is written by an Australian author, which I always like to see. Plus I loved Queens of Geek, and if it's as good as that, I'll like it.

[Kaje]

I'll put both Santa Olivia and The Brightsiders on the poll. Thanks.

[Iamshadow]

Kaje wrote: "I'll put both Santa Olivia and The Brightsiders on the poll. Thanks."

Thank you! You do so much work to keep this comm quietly ticking over, and I really appreciate it.

[Celia]

I nominate: "It's Not Like Its a Secret" by Misa Sugiura.


It's Not Like It's a Secret

"Sixteen-year-old Sana Kiyohara has too many secrets. Some are small, like how it bothers her when her friends don’t invite her to parties. Some are big, like that fact that she’s pretty sure her father’s having an affair. And then there’s the one that she barely even admits to herself, the one about how she might have a crush on her best friend.

When Sana and her family move to California, she begins to wonder if it’s finally time for her to be honest with her friends and family, especially after she meets Jamie Ramirez. Jamie is beautiful and smart and unlike anyone Sana’s ever known before. The only problems are: Sana is pretty sure Jamie’s friends hate her, Jamie’s ex isn’t totally out of the picture, Sana’s new friend Caleb has more-than-friendly feelings for her, and things with her dad feel like they’re coming to a head. She always figured that the hardest thing would be to tell people that she wanted to date a girl, but as she quickly learns, telling the truth is easy…what comes after it, though, is a whole lot more complicated."

WHY: This book hit me very hard because it has a WOC lead who falls for another WOC, and we need more diversity in our literature and media. We all know that everyone's experiences are different and unique, and one thing that makes these experiences unique can be culture, and what you have to face while being in part of certain cultures.

Sana, the lead, offers insight on what its like to be lesbian and Asian, and there is a good scene as to how she and her friends (and possibly real Asian youth) feel about their place in the LGBT community.

This book also focuses on important commentary, such as economic backgrounds, racial discrimination, family structure, and social pressures and cultural expectancy.

This is a book I would read a hundred times over, and really think the club will enjoy it too!

[Kaje]

Celia wrote: "I nominate: "It's Not Like Its a Secret" by Misa Sugiura.
..."

Sounds great - and this book wasn't on my radar so thank you. :)

[Amber]

Night Swimming

"Imagine being the only two seventeen-year-olds in a small town. That’s life for Kirby Arrow—named after the most dissenting judge in Australia’s history—and her best friend Clancy Lee, would-be musical star.

Clancy wants nothing more than to leave town and head for the big smoke, but Kirby is worried: her family has a history of leaving. She hasn’t heard from her father since he left when she was a baby. Shouldn’t she stay to help her mother with the goat’s-milk soap-making business, look after her grandfather who suffers from dementia, be an apprentice carpenter to old Mr Pool? And how could she leave her pet goat, Stanley, her dog Maude, and her cat Marianne?

But two things happen that change everything for Kirby. She finds an article in the newspaper about her father, and Iris arrives in town. Iris is beautiful, wears crazy clothes, plays the mandolin, and seems perfect, really, thinks Kirby. Clancy has his heart set on winning over Iris. Trouble is Kirby is also falling in love with Iris…"

-I really loved this book because it is set in Australia-(where I'm from, and not many diverse YA books are!), and features a lesbian protagonist who is super relatable- slightly awkward tomboy and bookworm. Her best friend Clancy is Chinese-Australian and doesn't fit most of the stereotypes, as he is a huge lover of musicals and is loveable too. The love interest, Iris, is biracial (Indian/NZ) and this adds to the diversity in the book. The novel also touches on dementia, depression and has great queer and racial minority representation.

[Iamshadow]

Amber wrote: "Night Swimming"

Thank you for nomming this book. I'm always on the lookout for local queer books, and I've never heard of this one.

[Kaje]

Nominations closed - poll is here through Feb 6th
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1....